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Hi! This went well – great job back chaining his stay, he looked great!
> I think i made the distances too big.
Initially it was 6 of my feet which was about 1.5m/5′>I think the distances were good!
>Should i be aiming for him landing in the middle?>
Nope! We are looking for balanced jumping and striding. He was generally landing in the middle of jumps 1 and 2, then sorting out his striding for the next part. I think he did really well!
>I then put the jump out 1.2m (the length of a pole). And he double strided, so i bumped it back a bit to get the single stride, then back to original position.>
The double stride was pretty balanced, so no need to worry about the single stride/bounce. And as jump 3 gets further away, you will see the double stride (one stride) then 2 strides – and as long as he is balanced, we are happy 🙂 When he went back to the single stride at :22, he was actuall a little off balance: note how his butt ends up higher than his shoulders 🙂
> I was nearly throwing the toy on the ground (offscreen).>
Were you stationary? If so, you can add your motion and the moving target (dragging rewward) – start with slow movement and see how he does. It he is still balanced, you can go to a fast walk and then a job, with the dragging reward to give him a focal point.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! This is going really well! Both sides are getting pretty balanced as you mentioned – the left turn is looking good!
You can totally repeat the verbals for each jump: swing swing swing or over over over. That can help attach the verbal even more because it names each jump and it gets him used to hearing verbals over the bar (and not being distractedby that)
>But I’m struggling with getting him to take the grid while in middle.>
The hardest part for him was moving into from his middle position. Two ideas to help:
You can reward a swing from the middle position even if it is only one jump with a reward between 1 and 2 rather than waiting for all 3 jumps
You can hold his collar and sayt he verbal a few times, the let go of the collar – that will help him process the verbal befroe he moves, and taking your hand off the collar is the cue to start moving (which seemed to be part of his question: when to start moving out of the middle position.Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
>Yes his flip away is something new for us. I could have used that skill at a recent trial so now I’ve added it to our list of skills to work on!>
It is turning into a very useful skill for a lot of course challenges lately! He read it really well!
>I absolutely should have turned him to the right on the beginning of the second and fourth pop out. Navigating the best line is relatively new to me and I am starting to put more thought into the process.>
When you are deciding the handling, if you have a wrap in particular: you can stand at the exit of the wrap at each wing and look down the line to see what he sees. The line with the fewest turns is generally the fastest. I think of it as trying to find a racetrack for the dog to run with as little handling as possible, rather than a bunch of zig zags 🙂
> Pop out 1 went well.>
I agree! Lovely! My only suggestion is to turn your head to look at him more, so he sees the connection more. He is finding his lines but he is also glancing at you a lot and not driving ahead as fast as he can. More connection will get him looking forward more and going even faster 🙂 You can see this in the other pop outs too, when he was on a 2straight line but you were looking forward and not at him: he would slow down and head check (like at 1:14 and 1:53) rather than look forward and drive past you.
Pop out 2 was definitely tricky with the bypasses! You were having him exit 5 turning to his left, to find the easiest possible line to 6. That worked really well when you were connected and got the layering! Having him come in to the threadle wrap to his right on 4 (like at :32) set up a lot of collection, so you can let him slice that jump to his right, then go to the other side of 5 and wrap that – I think that will be faster than wrapping 4 then bringing him around to the other side of 5. Sending him to the far side of like at :46 was more yardage but less collection, and set up a nice line over 5! So which is faster? I timed it! The wrap option (:32) is faster, for 2 reasons: shorter yardage on 4-5, and you layered 5-6 which created less yardage for him too. This is good to know what yardage is a big factor for him!
>That brings me to the question about the lead leg. I believe in that last scenario he would be on the same lead whereas the first one he would have to change twice, correct?>
Yes – but that doesn’t mean it will be faster or the better line. I don’t worry too much about lead legs, instead I look for shorter distance and better line – the dogs are really quick with lead changes if they are needed, so shorter distances might be more important when choosing handling than lead changes.
Pop out 3 also looked really good! You can be more connected on the 5-6-7 line so he looks forward more at 1:14 and less at you. And if you wanted to work more of the flip aways and layering, you can play with keeping him on your right for #2 and flipping him away at the exit to get 3 and 4 🙂
>Pop out 3 went well and again I did alternative handling from 8 to 9
The FC that you did firt 8-9 had shorter yardage but more turns. The RC on 8 had longer yardage but fewer turns. I didn’t time it because the answer would have been deceptive: he had a lot of speed coming into it on the FC rep but started the other rep right there so there was less speed to compare to the other rep. If you have it still set up, you can start them both from a couple of jumps before it and we can compare the timing!
Pop out 4 also went well! The handling choices were all really good! The only small detail here is to connect more on the 3-4-5 line so he can drive forward and not check in with you 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>Went on 2 sniffari walks this weekend with Sunnie. Just me & her, off the property.>
That sounds fantastic!!
> I did however bring cookies on the sniffari walk (lecture said not to) because I needed ammunition if I had to deter wildlife or reward for calm behavior for people going by on bikes or walking.>
Having cookies is perfectly fine because it is possible you would run into harder challenges than in an easier location: wildlife, bikes, other dogs/people…. bring on the cookies! And it is great to switch gears from a sniffari to rewards/help for ignoring then back to sniffari 🙂
>> but when I needed to move her to another area, she could care less about the snacks. Kibble was ok for later in the walk, but not when we first got there. I did have a few pieces of chicken hearts, she complied but it wasn’t like give me that snack!>
SMART to have brought the chicken hearts! The world is very exciting and stimulating, which overrides her food drive in those early moments. If she has a favorite toy (like a tennis ball or frisbee?) you can bring that to and give it to her – maybe she will like that more than food in the hard moments? I also use lots of fur toys with my murderers, oops I mean whippets hahaha because a regular toy or treats might be nice but a fur toy like a raccoon on a bungee or a squirrel pelt if the BEST THING EVER. She might like fur toys, and she might like feather toys too!
> So odd having a lab that food isn’t the end all in certain situations!>
I KNOW, RIGHT?!! It is certainly different LOL!!! That is why I suggest giving her a cool toy to carry – maybe that is more reinforcing because it taps into the instinct more than eating does?
> Next time I go I will not go on the path, but walk in the fields near the playgrounds and ball fields, then it’s not like we have to go in a straight line then – on the path, I can let her choose which direction to go!>
That sounds perfect.
>We will continue working on the birds. Even tho’ I missed the mark when she was younger on some life skills (oops!) we did get some fun “agility’ & then some games over the past 6 months. Saved us in the winter when it was SO cold and SO much snow!>
I don’t think you missed the mark! Don’t give yourself any guilt! I think she entered adolescence AND spring rolled around… and the bird stuff blossomed into a big challenge. It was not anything you skipped or did wrong, it is simply part of the adventures of owning a high drive adolescent pup 🙂 I know Sunnie will get past this and you will survive canine adolescence 🤣😂
>We will see you in Max Pup 2 and if we have to adjust for space or whatever I know you’ll be there to guide us! Which is reaassuring 🙂>
Yay! It will be fun and I am looking forward to it!!
Tracy
Good morning!
He did really well with his stays here! And you mixed in stay rewards a lot, which also helps build up the stay.
>He did get up a few times but I made it easier for a few reps after that.>
I think the broken stays (like :47 – :59) had more to do with distractions in the environment. If you listen closely, dogs in the distance started barking then at :53 there was a ‘pop’, maybe fireworks? So he moved with you. But then he was very successful before then and after that section, when there were no weird sounds in the environment.
> He was not sure what I wanted at the wing but he was getting more confident toawrds the end.>
He knew it was something with a turn, which is good!! He is learning to follow through and wrap the wing without any help, and your reward placement will was really strong to help him solidify that.
>I probably should not be placing the treats on the ground for the parallel path but it is so hard for him to find them in the grass. I saw a toy that was like a lotus ball but called “the pill” It looks like it has less velcro,>
That reminds me of another lotus-ball-alternative, called the clam: less velcro, easy to throw, very easy to open with mouth or feet:
https://shop.app/products/7813069963338/the-clam-treat-dispensing-training-toy?variantId=41699573137482&msclkid=1af18c694d641878917ce6228489caee&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMAX+Campaign+-+New&utm_term=2328971787530649&utm_content=Animals+%26+Pet+SuppliesHe might like it!
The weirdness gauntlet was interesting! He definitely noticed the thing, and stopped moving: I wonder if he was waiting for further instructions, because it was in his training area? He did not seem to be worried about it or surprised, so it is possible that freeze moment when he did not immediately follow you was him asking if you were going to shape behavior on the object LOL! You can definitely try this in other places that are not associated with training, and see how he feels about it 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>. I think she sees him get distracted when he is around other dogs or people. She had me try an exercise of coming into the ring passing people on both sides of him. It was hard. I had treats vs toy if I remember. Also in our other class he would disconnect to see one of the other puppies. He does tend to stare at others and doesn’t always check back in.>
Totally normal stuff with a youngster 🙂 but the classes are a great opportunity to have the other people & dogs help him learn to ignore them 🙂
> Most of the time he is great if I have toy or do the pattern games. She suggested doing the games other places which I have already been doing.>
Perfect! You are doing all the right things, now it is a matter of giving him more experience.
>During the break I will pick a few exercises from the last few weeks to work on. Especially the newer verbals to help me lol>
This sounds good – it is easy to teach the dogs the verbals, it is hard to teach ourselves to remember the verbals LOL!!
Have fun!!
Tracy
Hi!
>ziv better with cone before tunnel>
Yes, these were really good – mainly because your arms were low and not pointing at the cone, so he saw lots of good connection and movement.
> but not so sure when after tunnel. didnt help my arms were all over>
You are correct, it was your arms 🙂 When he was exiting the tunnel, he either saw you pointing ahead and not connected, or you were connected but rotated towards him and using the opposite arm. What he needs to see as he exits is a low dog side arm pointing back to him and he needs to see your eyes & connection. That will help commit him to the cone or wing. You can set it up by sending to the tunnel so you are ahead when he exits, so he can see the movement and connection (but no pointing arm :))
He does like the Manners Minder a bit, but he doesn’t fully love it – so mix in letting him play with a toy during a session. You can use the MM as the reward, but after every couple of reps, you can bring out a toy to let him tug or run around. That will help reduce frustration especially if something goes wrong.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi!
First video – be sure to connect more for jump 1
The ‘here’ before the backside is not needed – she was going the right direction and it pulled her off the backside. You can keep moving there and cue the backside so she stays on the line. The blind to the backside on the 2nd run looked GREAT!!Looking at the double whammy game:
First video, very nice job keeping it all together to get through! The handling was different the 2nd time through but that is fine, because it is all about thinking on your feet and staying connected, which you did really well. The only had part was on the transition from the end of the first round back to jump 1 to start the 2nd round: you kept her on your left there which out her on the wrong side of the jump. You can do a blind or post turn to get her on your right which will be very smooth.The start of the 2nd sequence needed more of a lead out than you had on rep 1, so she went to the off course tunnel. Starting on the inside of the course and sending as if 1 was a backside worked a lot better. The rest looked really strong, with the only hard part being the transition from the backside of the jump near the tunnel, to the flip away to the tunnel. When she is getting the backside, try staying in motion and using your outside arm (left arm here) to turn her away to the tunnel. That can smooth out the spins she did. And during the double whammy, calling very urgently on the 2nd time through will help her know it is the jump not the tunnel, you were a little quiet there so she stayed on the line to the tunnel.
But the rest looked really strong and connected!Well done!
Tracy
Hi!
>I am thinking about what else I need to work on or review for max 2. >
He is doing really well with everything, so maybe if the weather is good play some rocking horses with more distance? And add the tunnel?
>I am also questioning adding more distractions or people in the ring for my in person class.>
Another person or two in the ring is always good, as long as it isn’t too hard for him!
> My instructor thinks we need more focus work. I am not positive why since when I look at the videos and he seems pretty engaged. >
Ask her if she is thinking in general terms that it is good to add more challenge now that he is a little older, or if she sees certain things? He sometimes checks out weird things in the corner of the ring at your class, but overall I think he has been super focused!!
>Although I do have a toy.>
That is good though! He doesn’t need to train without a toy yet 🙂
> I know based on my field work with him I need to work more on recalls.>
Maybe in the group class, so recalls with other people in the ring? Or you can send him through a tunnel and run away through a crowd of people and call him – can he ignore them and find you? That would be fun!
>What age do you start other skills? I saw your other classes for teeter and weaves but didn’t see age range. I know we introduced the mat for contacts and I will touch back on that also.>
I start some foundation skills for contacts at about 8 months like more contact mats and some teeter games 🙂 but he is a big dude so the real stuff starts after he is a year old. He is also very smart and he learns things quickly – so if you waited until he was 14 months old or so, his body will be more mature and he will figure out what to do extremely quickly.
Keep me posted!
Tray
Hi!
>You never just say good job, great idea, you take it to the next level and teach me about my dog. I love & appreciate that more than you know!
Awwwww, thanks! It is so fun having you here because you really care about the little details!
>Yes! And I’m starting to see $$$ in the bank, the check ins are happening in novel areas too now.>
Exactly! Make the situation rich with reinforcement for the behaviors you want 🙂
>Everytime I go out either solo or with the other 2 in the yard, I’m starting to figure what works, what doesn’t 😀>
That is the most important part of it all – what helps in different scenarios.
> The hardest part that I haven’t figured out yet and managing Sunnie is when I take all three out.>
Does Sunnie have the same big feelings for Lexie? Is it possible for Sunnie to go out with Lexie… then Kelsie goes out (sorry, Kelsie, LOL!) That might reduce the excitement of those first moment? Or, if Lexie and Kelsie can be outside by themselves, can you take Sunnie out for a quick pee on leash out the front door? It is a little extra work for now but worth it because it will make it all easier. Then after Sunnie has he pee, you can work some focus games at the door while Kelsie is outside. I have 9 dogs so I totally understand the challenge of figuring out how to get the puppy to not become obsessed with the adults 🙂
>Another hot day here tomorrow, so we’ll get out early! Hope you have a great day instrucing & it’s “cooler” up there! 😀>
The big rain storms here have cooled things down and now I am actually cold and wearing a jacket hahaha! It feels really good! Have fun tomorrow!
Tracy
Hi!
>I’m actually super proud of his focus… you’ll see all the swallows and he only went for them when not working!>
Yes, he was terrific! Working with focus in a wide open field, so many distractions…. SUPER!!!
The runs went well! The tandem turns were best when you turned parallel to the wing and got his attention with your hands, and helped him flip away with a bit of hand motion. Your connection was very strong too!
I think he needs a flip-away verbal now – the name calls can help get his attention but then he needed something other than the name to begin the turn away. You can start adding his threadle wrap verbal because this is basically a threadle wrap.
When you were pushing in towards the wing (like at 1:25) the convergence pushed him out to the other side of it.
Your line was good on the next rep but the toy was distracting, oops 😂 Super good tandem/turn away at 2:03 but he missed the tunnel.But then tons of success after than, including the last rep which was lovely.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! Happy July 4th!
>I took your advice and stayed on the other side of the weaves for two of the exercises. First exercise worked well and I made sure I didn’t take the jump myself again! Lol>
This went great! He was lovely finding the weave entry coming toward you, no questions. He flipped away to the jumps after the weave really well too – this might be a newer or harder skill, maybe? Because he looked at you for a moment. But then when he realized what it was he had a ton of speed up that line and through the end. Super!
On the beginning of the second and fourth pop out, something to consider is turning him to his right on the first jump so he lands looking directly at the correct side of 2. At :26 you turned him to his left on jump 1 then pushed him to the backside of 2. That worked to get the line, but turning him to the right on 1 should make for an even faster line there and help with the bar staying up. A little more connection will also help with the bar and help propel him to the layering jump – he really likes the direct eye contact of the connection 🙂
>Second exercise, he got his entry but missed the next pole…hard angle. We finally did it.>Yes – he was so close on the first run, probably just a little surprised about the angle of entry. But then he nailed it on the 2nd run! And the rest of the run looked fast and lovely!
I tried pop out # four and lost connection… Not once, but twice!>
Trying to navigate around the weaves while not impaling yourself is what broke connection at 1:09. You got it on the next rep but then it was hard to get the backside – that is another place intensified connection can really help and also you can consider using your outside arm: he was on your left, so you can use your right arm to point to the backside wing because it helps turn your shoulders to the line more clearly.
The connection to the jump on the other side of the weaves was very clear at 1:27 which also helped set the line to the backside really well. And the rest of the run set up really nicely after that too!
>Managed to have success, and then I layered the weaves for his final run.>
Yes! That went really well, he is really absorbing the concept of layering with the weaves involved. It is fun to see how confident he is getting with the layering, even without getting a lot of momentum into the line on a bigger course!
Great job 🙂
TracyHi!
Both of these videos were the same, let me know if there was supposed to be a different one.
The 2 runs on the video looked great! She is doing really well with her layering here – I am assuming she did take the jump on the other side of the tunnel even though I couldn’t see it 🙂
You can do 2 things to build up her layer skills even more: get closer to jump 2 which means you will be further away from the tunnel – which means you will have more distance on the layering and get to the last jumps even earlier.
Keep using your verbals, but keep your hands down and move to your next position sooner (while she is layering). It will be useful to teach her to stay on the layering line even as you start moving away to your next line.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
The double whammy game is all about revelations 🙂 and stepping out of comfort zone! This went really well – it is a challenging sequence for sure. There were a lot of smooth, connected sections and the adjust for the backside blind worked really well.
Looking at the threadle, what seemed to be happening was the your feet & line of motion were converging towards the jump, the upper body (threadle arm) didn’t pull her in enough so she stayed on the line to the opposite side.
At :50 and 1:15 your line of motion was really good so she was able to get it! For the threadle arms, you are using the opposite arm but the dog-side arm is moving forward so I don’t know if she sees the opposite arm. You can play with pulling the dog-side arm back and away, to rotate your upper body towards her. You want to turn your shoulders towards her but also don’t want to rotate your feet 🙂 and that is what makes threadles tricky!
>Our tunnel sends became iffy from 4 to 5…meaning I had to go deeper and struggled to get in position for #6 so had to change my handling from a forced front cross to a backside blind.>
The tunnel was pretty far away but she was able to do it when you had great connection to help set the line – really looking at her – like at :36 and :55 (and also 1:03 as long as you keep moving).
Your adjustment to the backside blind was excellent and that produced a great line! Being able to switch to that is what helps the run keep going even if unexpected things happen.
It is good to know that she won’t go all the way to the tunnel if you stop moving – being able to stop moving or peel away is what will get your originally planned handling. So you can isolate that skill: start with the tunnel where it is and the jump in front of it… and use a jump or even a wing wrap to start close and send her to the tunnel (passing the jump) without you moving much at all 🙂 When she does it, you can throw a ball to the exit of the tunnel. Then you can gradually move the start jump or wing further and further away, so she can accelerate to the tunnel and pass the other jump from 10 or 11 meters away with minimal motion (but lots of verbal and connection) from you.
>Her sends are usually really good but I think she was confused by jump 6 which she seemed to think required a wrap as we ran towards the tunnel, presumably because I was near the wing. >
I totally agree that she was surprised about having to go past the jump if you were trying not to go past the jump 🙂 One or two training sessions will help her see it and then it will be super easy.
>I just got more frantic with the waving arms which did not help. >
I totally relate! The double whammy makes me feel a little behind and a little bit of panic, which is great because it helps me learn to keep it together on course 🙂 It gets easier the more you play with it – you are off to a great start!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>My instructor questioned if he has more issues when I am facing him so I did some toy retrieval with me tossing toy behind me and me walking towards him without the wing. I think that helped a little too.>
That is a fun way to break it down! You can also play a variation of the reverse retrieve, where you place a fun toy on the ground, start walking towards him then release him to go past you to the toy. You can also use a food bowl for this.
>We did the advanced part of the game. Overall I thought it went well.>
It went really well! His stay looked great as usual, and he is definitely getting the idea that it is OK to take the jump behind you 🙂 It will make even more sense to him as he begins to learn more about sequencing but he is already in a really good spot in terms of understanding this!
Great job!
Tracy
